Hip to My Heart
by Rozablood
Summary: Post SK, Dimitri never turned. RXD fluff, some RXL friendship and RoseXTasha friendship. Long. It's grad and everyone's there-yes, EVERYONE! What happens when Rose meets the Belikovs-again? rated for mature themes. one-shot


**A/N: Poem credit goes to ****Roza Chameleon Redbird****. I did not write the poem, just the story to go along with it. Set after Rose beat Dimitri in field experience, but there was no attack and field experience is over. They still had sex though, so don't worry. It's like a Blood Promise, but Dimka's not Strigoi. It's a week before graduation. Oh, but pretend that she met the Belikov family—you'll see how soon—and Dimitri doesn't know that she did. And pretend that Mason never died, but him and Rose are ONLY friends. It's past Rose's birthday, too. (that was supposed to be a short A/N lol)**

RPOV

I had to admit, it was pretty good. Especially for someone who hasn't written anything decent in her short—but long—eighteen years of life. And it expressed my feelings perfectly: lost and—as much as I hated to admit it—somewhat depressing. I didn't know what to do with my life. Well, of course I know what to do: become Lissa's guardian. But that was Lissa's life I was going through, not my own. I wanted a life of my own. A life where I was able to live without fear. A life where I was able to be with the man I loved more than anyone else. Just… a life in general. Anything that was mine, and mine alone.

I stood up and brought the paper to the front desk before anyone else, placing it lightly before Ms. Schachner, my Moroi English teacher. She looked semi-surprised at me being the first one up but smiled lightly at me. My lips twitched in an upward direction and I walked back to my desk.

When I looked back up Ms. Schachner was reading my poem, a shocked expression on her face. Tears built in her eyes. She seemed to be rereading it.

I turned back to myself and laid my head down on my arms. A few more people stood up to hand their papers in, but other than that it was quiet. Soon my six months of sleepless nights caught up with me and I was asleep.

_Red-ringed brown eyes stared down at where I was lying, malice etched into them. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything but the eyes, but that shade of brown seemed somehow familiar to me. Like I had not only seen it, but had it memorized._

_I didn't move, and neither did the eyes. They seemed to dim as I watched, until the red was barely noticeable. And he—most definitely he—spoke._

"_I'm sorry, Rose."_

"Rose."

_This voice was different, still male but lighter, more boyish. It sounded almost like—Mason?_

"Rose. C'mon Rose, wake up."

Someone was shaking my shoulder, whispering in my ear. I lifted my head off my arms, where I had fallen asleep. I looked up to see Mason next to me, his hair mussed up and a bright red spot on his forehead like he had fallen asleep as well.

I brushed back my hair with my hand, pulling through as many kinks as I could. "Hey Mase. You fall asleep too?"

He grinned. "Maybe a little. Time to go though, the bell just rang."

I look at my watch and nearly choked on my own spit. "Holy shit we gotta go!"

I gathered my things as fast as I could while Mason watched, trying unsuccessfully not to laugh. I ignored him and ran out of the room, outside to one of the gyms for group practice. Mason, still trying not to double over, closely followed me, his laughter making him trip a few times but not fall. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. _Boys_.

We made it to the gym a mere second before the tardy bell rang, and I joined Mason in laughing, only mine was in relief instead of at the expense of someone else's humility.

I gave him a quick high five and made my way to the front of the class, where I was surprised to find the 6'6" god by the name of Dimitri instead of the usual bedraggled Stan.

"Hey Comrade," I said, loud enough for most of the kids to hear me. Most gasped—who called an instructor that?—but I just brushed it off. "Where's Stanny Boy today?"

He arched an eyebrow at me—why couldn't he just teach me that already?—and kept his face stern, but I saw the humor in his eyes. "He had to go off campus along with Alberta and Celeste for an orientation with the exchange students coming next year. They should be here tomorrow for the tour and to see graduation on Sunday."

I smiled so widely that my cheeks hurt and bounced on the balls of my feet. Tomorrow Dimitri was gonna see his little sister for the first time in five years, and he didn't even know it. I flashed back quickly to the phone conversation I had with one Viktoria Belikov where she told me she was coming here as an exchange student and not to tell her older brother anything.

Said brother looked at me like I had gone crazy—not a first—but I just turned and got ready to kick someone's ass—not before I winked at him, of course, though.

The hour went by without event, just me kicking ass after ass until the only ones that would fight with me were Mason and Dimitri. The first time I fought Dimitri, nothing really happened. A quick victory for me. The second time I told him—secretly, of course—that if he went easy on me again, he wouldn't be seeing me outside of practice anytime soon.

That got him fighting.

It was like the field experience, everyone stopping they're fights to watch ours. We had everyone's attention before anyone even made the first move.

I didn't pay attention to them, though. You see, me and Dimitri had a running deal. If I ever won against him in a fair—as in him not going easy on me—fight and we had an audience of more than five people, he had to kiss me in front of everyone. It hadn't happened yet, but I knew that Alberta—along with most of the guardians—and Lissa knew about us and accepted it, so I was kinda excited for the day to come.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a fist flying at my face. I jumped aside at the last second, and my body position allowed me to slide up and punch him in the jaw—Lissa was gonna have to heal that—before bouncing back out of reach. He winced at the hit, but rebounded with a kick at my feet that I was barely able to jump over. I landed steadily, though, and came at him again with a roundhouse kick to the chest. He caught my foot, and I used that as leveraged to spin my body in the air parallel to the ground and use my other foot to kick him in the face. I landed on my face when he let go, but he stumbled back a few feet allowing me time to get up. I was barely off the floor when he came at me with the full force of his body, pinning me down. I struggled against his hold, but this time he had all my limbs pinned, and he was able to bring his mouth down to my neck and graze his teeth against it. I barely held back my shiver of pleasure, especially when kissed me there lightly, my hair not allowing the others to see.

He got up swiftly and held his hand down to me, which I gladly took. With his help I got up, muttering a "damn it" along the way.

He winked at me and said, "Maybe next time."

Everyone heard what he said, but only I knew the meaning behind the words. That alone had me smiling slightly as I fought Mason for the rest of the class, allowing him to win a couple times without him realizing it. He needed a good ego boost, and what was better than beating the famous Rose Hathaway in a fight? Exactly.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Since I had nothing better to do without having sessions with Dimitri anymore I headed to Lissa's dorm, just before she got there with Christian trailing behind her. I didn't have to read her mind to know what they were planning to do—and it wasn't study. I laughed when she saw me at her door, face turning bright red.

"Its fine," I said before she could apologize, verbally or not. "I'm just here to tell you that when you have the time I need you to heal Dimitri's jaw. I don't think I broke it 'cause he was talking, but I know it was bad."

She looked at me, confused. "I thought you didn't have practice with him anymore."

"I don't. He subbed for Stan today because Alto was doing an orientation thing off campus with Alberta and Celeste."

She nodded in understanding. "Okay. Can do."

I laughed at her disappointed expression. "Go have fun with your boy toy. You can heal him later."

She lit up like a Christmas tree. "Thanks Rose. I'll see you later."

"See you guys later." I hugged Liss and punched Sparky on the shoulder lightly and left, letting them have their fun.

x.X.x

The next morning I woke up at five—a habit from training with Dimitri—and nearly went back to sleep before I remembered that the exchange students would be arriving in an hour. If I got ready quick enough I could meet them at the plane when they landed—students were allowed, though I doubted anyone would wake up at this time just to see a bunch of foreigners.

I showered and dressed in forty-five minutes, giving me a good ten minutes to walk to the landing strip before they arrived. A plan formed on my way there, and I grinned when I saw Dimitri waiting along with all the other guardians for the plane to land. I noted that all of the guardians there were the ones that knew about me and Dimitri.

Without any warning, I ran forward and jumped on Dimitri's unsuspecting back, making him stumble and fall.

"What the hell? Rose?"

I laughed so hard I nearly fell on him. "HA! Finally caught you by surprise!"

He rolled his eyes and got up, brushing off his snow-covered backside. That just made me laugh harder. I vaguely heard the other guardians laugh with me.

He looked at me for a second, then laughed with me. It was a short laugh, but it was filled with humor and love and everything else he felt at the moment—including a little irritation and surprise.

I slowly stopped, and when I was finally silent he said, "What are you doing out here?"

"I woke up early 'cause you and your stupid hours are permanently etched in my brain and figured I'd come and watch your face as you saw one specific person come off that"—I pointed to the now approaching plane—"plane."

He looked confused. "What person?"

"You'll see in about two minutes."

The plane landed just after I said that, tires squealing on the cold pavement. It stopped just before us, doors opening a second later.

I walked closer until I was at the bottom of the steps, kids and guardians from the plane rushing by me.

That's when I saw her, pushing past everyone else in her haste to get down. She finally got to the bottom, squeaking out a "ROSE!" while moving forward to hug me.

"Vikki!" I yelled, bouncing with happiness. "I am so happy you're here! You have no idea how hard this was to keep from your brother. I even had to hack in and remove your name from the arrival list." I was hugging her by now, both of us bouncing together. "God, it's been years! You look so different!"

"Me?" she scoffed. "Look at you! You're an adult! Last time I saw you, you were sixteen year old runaway and now you're an adult with molnija marks and everything!"

We were practically shouting our conversation in our happiness. God I missed this child.

"How's you're mom doing? And your sisters? I heard Sonya's pregnant. Is that true? And you _have_ to tell me about Paul. Last time I saw him he was just starting to walk." I was rambling and I knew it, but thankfully Dimitri butted in before I could say more. I hadn't even realized he was standing there listening to us the whole time until he spoke.

"Okay," he said, making me jump and laugh, "one, Vikki! I didn't know you were coming, though that was obviously intentional"—he gave me a quick playful glare—"and two, how in the hell do you two know each other?"

Vik and I exchanged a glance. "You tell him. It'd probably sound better coming from you, you always were a great storyteller," she said, reminding me of the times I would tell little Paul bedtime stories.

I grinned and turned, facing the love of my life. "You are gonna love this Comrade. So you know how you met me, right? Well, the first place me and Liss went was Russia. Yeah, as in I knew it wasn't an arctic wasteland the entire time. See, me and Lissa wanted to go somewhere with a large dhampir population, so that we didn't have to hide _what_ we were, just _who_ we were, and really, who would think of us leaving the continent? Maybe Canada, but nothing else. So Lissa remembers reading about a large community in little Baia. So she gets a credit card, we fly there—which took forever thank you very much—and first thing I do is go to the Wal-Mart there and get some hair dye for me and her. I was a redhead for a little bit. Freaked me out 'cause I looked _exactly_ like my mom. But there I am at the register ready to buy it, and you know how they have those candy bars by the registers? Yeah, and I see one Milky Way left, one of those _humongous_ king sized ones. I go to grab it 'cause everyone knows I love me my chocolate. And just as I'm about to grab it, this little fifteen-year-old girl grabs it and runs off before I can take it from her. She goes down to the next register, where I see her, her sisters, a little boy and her mom all standing at the register. They have a _lot_ of stuff so I figure I'll go ahead and buy my stuff. So when I'm done I go down there just in time to see her put the bar on the belt. Before it can even get_ close _to the scanner I grab it and say 'I don't think so. This one's mine.' And somehow, after that we became, like, best friends and we stayed with her until people started to suspect us. We even went to school there for a bit. Kinda tricky without speaking Russian, but they translated. Any questions?"

He looked a little overwhelmed. I nearly laughed. "Yeah, I do have one."

"Shoot."

"Does this mean you actually _did_ finish your sophomore year?"

I laughed. "Yep. And started I my junior year, too."

He looked impressed. "You actually stayed the summer?"

I grinned. "Yeah. That was the longest we hid anywhere, though that's probably because the next place we hid Victor's psi-hounds got us and we were _way _more careful."

He looked down at me, a look I didn't recognize in his eyes. "You are utterly amazing, you know that right?"

I laughed. "I have been told. Many, many times. Mostly by Lissa, but still."

He laughed with me.

"I see you found your sister Belikov," Alberta said, walking up to us. "Rose wouldn't stop bugging me until I agreed to take you off the arrival list so your brother didn't know," she said to Viktoria, bumping my side.

I laughed. "The things I do for my friends."

Alberta looked at me. "You remember the guest situation we talked about?"

I faced her and she grinned.

That was it.

"YES!" I screamed, wrapping my arms around her in a vice-like hug. I think I picked her up.

"Um, Rose, can't… breathe…"

"Oopsie," I said, setting her back down and letting her go. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She laughed. "No problem. We had too many people for the guest house anyway."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. What'd I miss?" Vik looked at me expectantly.

I grinned. "You're gonna be my roommate for the rest of the year!"

x.X.x

That night, after giving Vik and the rest of the kids the tour of the school, Dimitri walked us to our room. I was stuffed from dinner—where I introduced Vik to everyone and she and Lissa had their reunion—and dead beat from being on my feet all day and couldn't wait to take a nice hot bath and go to bed.

Dimitri gave Vik a quick hug and said, "No sneaking out tonight."

She laughed. "Me? Sneak out? Who do you think I am, Rose?"

"Hey!" I said, slightly offended.

They both looked at me, the same look in their eyes.

"Fine. I guess I deserved that."

Dimitri laughed and leaned down to kiss me. I eagerly accepted this version of goodbye and wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers entwining in his hair. His fingers bit into my hip. My tongue snaked out to lick his bottom lip, begging for entrance. I grinned when he granted it.

A loud throat-clearing made me jump and pull apart from Dimitri, though my arms stayed securely around his neck. He laughed at my reaction and gave me a quick peck on the lips, whispering a "love you" almost too low for me to hear. I answered him with the same quietness, saying "I love you too, Comrade" before kissing him again, lightly this time. I pulled away and faced his utterly shocked sister.

I laughed at her expression. "Don't blame me for not telling you. It was your brother's idea."

She turned to Dimitri, her expression unchanging. I laughed again. Dimitri put his arm around my shoulders, and I put mine around his waist, laying my head on his chest. I smiled and closed my eyes, content to stay in his arms forever.

Viktoria's excited squeal brought me out of my contentment _way_ too soon. I think I growled at her when I settled even deeper into Dimitri's arms. By the way Dimitri laughed I'm almost positive I did.

While Dimitri spilled all the gory details to his sister, I settled even deeper into his arms until he was the only thing keeping me from falling on my face. Ironic, as he was usually the one trying to put me on it.

I was so out of it I almost didn't notice it when he picked me up in arms, bridal style, and brought me to my bed. And I was just _too_ tired to tell him to stay, to tell him that if he didn't, they would come back. And I was so tired I fell asleep instantly, right into their arms.

_The sky darkened with every step I took. Clouds rolled in from every direction, blocking out the already fading moon. Soon the trees around me were barely visible, and I had to rely on touch to make sure I didn't run into anything._

_The leaves bristled in the wind, and the sounds of the wildlife around me were nonexistent. I was scared. I hated to admit it, but I was scared. My breath came in shallow gasps, and my running feet seemed to get heavier and heavier the longer I ran. _

_A twig snapped behind me, about ten yards. An insignificant sound, but it meant he was getting closer._

_I ran harder, ignoring the weight of my legs and pain in my heart. I had to run, had to find someone, _anyone_ that could help me._

_The clouds moved a fraction of an inch, allowing the smallest of light through. I used it to look behind me, my feet still moving forward and hands outstretched. _

_The light shined in the brown eyes I had come to love so much, only these eyes were ringed in red. _

_I screamed._

I bolted upright in bed, sweat dripping off my forehead. Looking over I saw a sleeping Viktoria in the newly-added bed opposite mine.

I closed my eyes and laid back down, breathing deeply. _It was only a dream_, I tried to tell myself. My mind didn't want to cooperate.

Which is why I found myself trekking through the snow in the afternoon sun, headed towards the guardian dorms. Tears made their way down my face without my permission, leaving salty tracks that I didn't bother to brush away.

I found my way to Dimitri's dorm easily, finding only the night patron as guard. I easily slipped by him and up to the third floor, knocking lightly on his door.

A minute later he opened the door, rubbing his eyes and looking more like a god than ever with only pajama pants on and his tan skin glowing in the light of his bedside lamp.

He finally looked down at my tear streaked face, his face covering with surprise. "Rose? Are you okay?"

I sobbed. Not out of fear, not out of anguish. Out of relief. Because when he looked down at me I saw the eyes of the man I loved, the deepest brown in the world, no red, no hostility. Just love and fear—fear for me because he didn't know what was hurting me.

Dimitri was quick to bring his arms around me, and I gladly fell into his chest, sobbing louder. He murmured to me in Russian, smoothing back my rat's nest of hair. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he picked me up like that, bringing me into his room and kicking the door shut behind us, still murmuring in his native language. He crossed the room quickly and sat on the bed, my arms still around him, sitting on his lap with my legs around his waist and head on his chest.

I eventually quieted, though my body still rocked with unheard sobs. Dimitri continued to hold me, but I pulled away slightly so I could dry my tears and look him in the eyes. He looked back at me with confusion and all the love in the world in his eyes. "What happened?"

I shook my head slightly. "Nightmare. Really, really bad nightmare. I'm sorry I woke you up for something so stupid."

He shook his head vigorously and brought me close to him again. "No, no, no. That doesn't matter. I would do anything for you, you know that. Even if your motives were stupid. I was going to wake up soon and go to the gym anyway. Do you want to talk about your dream?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay. But you can't laugh at the stupidity of it."

He placed his hand on my cheek, wiping the tears off it and brushing back my hair. "I promise."

I swallowed hard. Just thinking about my dream brought more tears to my eyes. "You… you were a… you were a Strigoi. And you were chasing me. That's all I remember. It was dark, and I was running through the forest, and I look back and see you chasing me with red eyes. Then I woke up." I looked into his very, _very_ brown eyes and nearly melted.

"Oh, Roza. I'm so sorry. It was just a dream, though. Nothing is ever going to happen to me, you wouldn't allow it." He laughed lightly.

My laugh was watery, but it was a laugh. Dimitri seemed to realize how close I was to tears again and pulled me closer than before. He laid us down, his arms still around me so that we were on our sides, facing each other.

I sniffled and cuddled even further into his chest. "I love you Dimitri. So, so much."

His arms tightened around me impossibly. "I love you too, Roza. More than you could ever know." His arms loosened slightly so I could breathe. "Sleep, Roza. I'll make sure you don't have any nightmares."

I took in a deep breath of his heavenly aftershave and smiled, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

x.X.x

What felt like seconds later I was awake. The first thought that came to my mind was _what the fuck_ when I took in the slightly familiar surroundings, but I quickly caught up when I heard Dimitri's deep breathing behind me. I turned around carefully, trying not to wake him. His arms were around my waist, slightly restraining me, but I managed to turn without any sudden movements.

The sight before me was breathtaking.

Dimitri's deep, silky brown hair was everywhere, his eyes closed and his lips parted slightly. The guardian mask he always wore was gone making him seem almost… peaceful for once. A small smile was on his lips and I wondered what he was dreaming about—and hoping, I have to say it, about me. My heart swelled when he murmured "Roza" once and the smile on his face grew bigger.

I looked at the clock on his nightstand and nearly pissed myself. I had to get to my room now if I wanted to get dressed and show Vikki to our first class.

Dimitri looked so peaceful, though. I didn't think I could wake him. An idea sprung to mind, and I immediately administered it before I even fully thought it through—what else is new?

Whisper-soft, my lips sealed around his, I murmured, "Wake up, Comrade. I'm gonna be late."

He stirred and his eyes twitched, widening in surprise. "Roza," he moaned. His arms wrapped tighter around my waist. "Hmmm…" his eyes closed again, and I laughed lightly, my lips brushing his.

I kissed him again, harder this time. I had the satisfaction of him responding—quite enthusiastically if I do say so myself—before I had to pull away. "I really don't want to have to leave your room in my P.J.'s with the entire student body to see. I gotta go."

I swear to God, Dimitri Belikov just pouted. As in, he pushed his bottom lip out and gave me his very, very good puppy dog eyes and begged me not to go, for me to stay here in his room forever.

I laughed. "It may be graduation in two days, but I still need to go to class. And today we start training again so you can prep me for my final test."

He looked confused. "I don't remember ever agreeing to that…"

I grinned. "You just did. Now come on, before your sister wakes up and realizes I'm gone."

He groaned but got up, but not before wrapping his arms around me once more and kissing me with everything he had, leaving me a little breathless.

"Good morning, Roza."

I grinned and followed him out of the bed, falling into his embrace. "Morning, Comrade."

He squeezed me tight before letting me go. I hurried to his bathroom for a quick shower—and by quick I mean quick, the whole thing only lasted six minutes—and put on one of his t-shirts. Good thing he was so much taller than me.

We quickly made it to my dorm, meeting no obstacles to pass. Good thing, too. Even if the guardians did accept us, I don't think they'd accept me leaving his dorm wearing nothing but his shirt.

I quickly unlocked the door and ushered him in, shutting it behind me and grabbing some training clothes from my dresser.

"Stay."

Dimitri grinned and sat on my bed, not moving. I made my way to the bathroom and changed, emerging in a white-and-black sports bra and comfy grey sweats. Dimitri's grin widened when he saw my attire.

"Not a word," I said, moving to Viktoria's bed and shaking her lightly. "Come on, sleepy head. Time to wake up and watch me kick your big brother's ass."

Now, having spent almost a year living with her, I knew she wasn't exactly a morning person. So I was surprised when she sprang up and stared at me like I was crazy.

"Am I dreaming or did you just say you could beat my brother's ass?" she looked more excited than I had ever seen her. "I would pay to see that!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm. "It has happened before."

Dimitri spoke from behind me. "Hey, I let you win that one!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Yes you let me win _that_ one. But the rest I won fair and square, so shut up."

Vikki looked surprised at seeing him here but quickly recovered. "Well let me get dressed real quick. I wanna see this."

I grinned. "Wear something comfy. I wanna spar with you, too." She nearly choked when I said that but I just laughed. "I just wanna see where you are. I promise I'll go easy."

She looked at me skeptically. "You will or will you say you will and end up beating me to a pulp like last time?"

I groaned. "How many times do we have to go over this? I _was_ going easy on you!"

She grinned. "Whatever. If you kick his ass I might even let you have full reign on me."

I held out my hand. She took it. "Deal."

"Deal."

She rushed to the bathroom and emerged seconds later in red sweat pants and a white tank top, her hair in a ponytail and teeth brushed. "Let's roll."

I was used to her quick dressing and didn't question it as we all jogged to the gym—after grabbing my bag of course and an extra towel and water bottle.

When we arrived there we saw Alberta training a couple seniors, probably prepping them for the test like we were. She looked up at our arrival and jogged over to us. "What are you guys doing here?"

Dimitri opened his mouth, but I answered before he could. "He's prepping me for the final trials, and Vikki here wanted to see me kick his ass. Though I am almost positive people got at least one video of our field experience fight."

She laughed. "You're right on that one. I, personally, shot one of the videos."

I grinned at her. "Make me a copy. I could use the blackmail."

Dimitri shook his head. "You see what you did, Alberta? Now she's never gonna let me live that down."

We all laughed. "All right. Just stay over here so you don't interrupt my trainings," Alberta said as she headed back to her seniors.

I grabbed the water bottles from my bag, throwing one to Dimitri that he caught perfectly, and one to Vikki, who looked startled and nearly dropped it, saving the last for me. We each took a small drink, me and Dimitri immediately throwing the bottles on top of my bag where I threw it in the corner while Vikki looked even more confused. You could tell Dimitri and I had a routine memorized.

We started our warm up stretches without warning, and Vik struggled to keep up. I nearly laughed. Is that what I looked like when I began?

Dimitri and I headed out to the track, Vikki following behind us uncertainly. "Come on, Vik," I called. "Just follow my lead."

She caught up with us just in time for us to start running, Dimitri starting the stopwatch around his neck that he grabbed from my bag on the way out. Dimitri and I started immediately, and Vik was only a second behind. Halfway through my mile I ran forward slightly and turned around, running backwards in front of them. "Okay, since you all are gonna run like wimps, I got a proposition for you. I say go, and the first one across the line gets no push ups, while the last one across has to do double. What d'ya say?"

Dimitri grinned. "Just say go."

Vik shook her head but laughed. "Fine. I like push ups anyway."

I turned back and faced the front, slowing so that we were all even.

Too quickly for anyone to respond, I yelled "GO!" and sprinted ahead of them, leaving a trail of dust—just kidding about the dust.

In a second, though, Dimitri was beside me, pacing me. I put on more speed and he just sped along with me. I looked back to see Vik a mere foot behind me, trying to push ahead. I looked forward again and saw that Dimitri had gained a foot on me.

Now, Rose Hathaway wasn't going to let that happen.

So, ten feet from the finish line, I jumped on his back, latching my arms to his shoulders and kissing his neck lightly. He fumbled just enough for Vik to push ahead of us and race past the line, and to let me push on his shoulders, launching myself up and over his head, flipping in the air before landing and running the last foot of track left. Dimitri was a millisecond behind me, breathing hard while Vik and I were on the ground laughing our asses off. Vikki composed herself just quick enough to give me a high-five before rolling back to the ground. Dimitri muttered a "Not funny, Rose," and headed in, but not before I saw the grin on his face.

I followed him in, still laughing my ass off. "Ah, c'mon Comrade. You gotta admit that was good!"

He grinned. "Fine. Nice abuse of power, Rose."

I quieted slightly when I noticed the others—including Alberta—looking at us like we were crazy, but still said, "It's what I'm here for," loud enough for the others to hear.

Vikki entered then, laughing harder than me. "That was frikkin awesome, Rose. And now I don't have any push-ups to do."

I grinned. "That's right. And Dimka here has to do double." I turned to him. "Drop and gimme hundred Comrade."

He rolled his eyes and got in the right position, but before he could do anything I walked forward and sat on his back, cross-legged.

He looked up at me. "I don't remember this being part of the deal."

"Learn to read the fine print." Vik laughed louder. "Now gimme a hundred before I make Vikki sit on you too."

He laughed and complied, starting his push ups like I wasn't even there. I looked over to see Alberta and her seniors laughing at us; I gave them a wave and continued my counting.

At fifty, I told him to stop so I could trade places with Vik and do my fifty. Vik laughed and sat on her brother's back, while I kept pace with him for the rest of his push ups.

When we were done I looked at Vik. "And for the moment you've been waiting for."

She squealed, causing the others to look over. I waved them to us, and Alberta instantly obliged. "What's up?"

Only Alberta could get away with saying that at her age. "I had an idea. So me and Dimitri spar, the winner spars you, and then that winner spars with the seniors. Waddya think?"

She shrugged. "Sounds good."

I grinned. "You call time," I told her.

I turned and faced Dimitri, the others already off my mind, though I did see them back away enough to give us plenty of room. I lowered to a defensive crouch and he followed, our poses nearly identical.

"GO!"

Dimitri instantly came for me, his fist pushing through the air at a blinding speed. I ducked around it and jumped forward, throwing a punch of my own. He jumped back to avoid it, and my feet kick out and tripped him before he could land. He was only on the ground for a millisecond before bounding up, not giving me the chance to take advantage of his weakness.

_Weakness…_

I grinned. I knew what to do. And how to do it without the others realizing exactly _what_ I was doing.

I feinted to the left, giving him a chance to tackle me to the ground. Before he had any of me pinned my elbow shot into his eye, making him stumble. Seemingly for support, I wrapped my legs around his waist, making him stumble even more as I saw the lust show in his eyes, and switched our positions so that I was on top, giving me an easy chance at his heart. I took it.

The instant I won I was on my feet, bowing to Vik's cheers and everyone else's claps. "Thank you, thank you. I'll be here 'til Sunday!"

Vik ran forward and wrapped her arms around me. "That was amazing! I think that's the only time I've ever seen him on his ass without his permission! Well, other than when Mama tells him to sit down and eat, but you know what I mean."

I grinned. I could just imagine a nineteen year old Dimitri being told what to do by his warm yet strict mother.

I stepped out of Vik's hold, turning to Alberta. "Looks like I'm the one you're fighting."

She grinned and held out her hand. I took it and we shook. "May the best woman win."

I nodded.

"GO!"

I vaguely heard Dimitri shout behind me, but I went. Taking Alberta's hand that was still in mine I flipped her on her back and staked her in two seconds flat. She looked surprised and like she had the breath knocked out of her. I grinned and looked at the seniors. "Which one am I fighting first?"

They both took a step back. Dimitri and I laughed.

I looked at my watch. "Oopsie. Looks like I don't have the time. I gotta get to class."

Dimitri laughed again at their relieved expressions and left with me and Vikki, showing us to our first class. I pulled a white tank top on over my sports bra on my way there and re-did my hair, trying to look halfway decent. Dimitri helped me comb through my hair while walking, pulling his fingers through the worst of the kinks.

We arrived to our class just before the warning bell rang. Before anyone could walk out and interrupt us, I stood on my tiptoes and gave Dimitri a quick kiss, giving him my bag. "Key's in the side pocket. Leave it on the wall lamp."

He took my bag and gave me one more kiss before giving his sister a hug and heading off. I knew he'd be back in a second to see me and Vik in class.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, sharpening only on sixth hour—English. We were getting our grades back for our final projects—the poems—and I was extremely nervous. English was my worst subject, and this grade determined whether or not I passed and was able to graduate.

Ms. Schachner finished handing out the papers and told us to flip them over. I quickly did so, reading the grade at the top.

I swear, I shat myself out of surprise.

An A+. A frikkin _A plus. _I had never gotten that good of a grade outside of physical training. I couldn't believe it. A plus. God, thank you so much. I needed that!

Ms. Schachner pulled me out of my reverie when she started talking again. "I know I never usually do this, but one certain poem really stood out to me, and if that author would like to, I would absolutely love it if they read it aloud for the class." She looked at me. "Rose, will you read your poem please?"

Again, I shat myself. I looked around at all the shocked faces in the room—_are you sure she said Rose_ written all over their faces—and caught the eyes of the most beautiful chocolate brown. Dimitri nodded.

I took a deep breath, heading up to the front of class, paper in hand.

I started.

"_What will I become?_

_When the leaves turn gold and the grass breathes into death's ear_

_When a lonely girl wanders the path of discontent_

_When a bear cub crawls into the night and is captured by a silver-haired owl_

_When the waterfalls disappear into a mist like a spring morning's_

_When the lightning bug does not light up the dormant dusk_

_When the rose of all things love, fails to shine an eloquent pink_

_What will I become?_

_A savior of the day?_

_A believer of the night?_

_Dancer of the cliff?_

_Or a bird that cannot take flight?_

_What will I become?_

_The answer is within the whole,_

_You will become a protector of your life_

_A mere distraction to night's prowling eye_

_When life just passes you by."_

The room was silent. Faces of the same expression stared at me from twenty different places in the room.

I locked eyes with Lissa first, who had been sitting by me when I was called up. Her feelings through the bond matched the expression on her face: surprise, pride, and sorrow. Surprise that I wrote something that good; pride that I _could _write something that good; sorrow that I felt that way.

I looked away and searched until I found Dimitri in the back of the class, the only one with a different expression on his face. His eyes held no surprise—he always thought I deserved to be the best—his eyes, his expression, held nothing but understanding, understanding and love.

x.X.x

I could never get enough of Dimitri's room. The way it was almost bare, but somehow still managed to reflect him perfectly. Neat, efficient, and very much Dimitri.

I was sitting on his bed with him, leaning back into his chest with his arms around me and his face in my hair. He was murmuring to me in Russian, trying to get me to sleep.

Let's just say, it wasn't working.

My nerves were strung thin, my heart beating fast in anticipation. Tomorrow was graduation. Tomorrow I would be an official guardian. I would go out into the real world, Lissa and Dimitri at my side. To say the least, I was too happy to sleep.

Dimitri pulled his fingers through my hair with one hand and pulled me closer with the other. "Sleep, Roza. You won't be able to graduate if you can't stay awake to get your mark."

I grinned at his reasoning. "I don't think you're helping."

He grinned into my hair and starting singing to me.

"_Hush, my love now, don't you cry_

_Everything will be alright_

_Close your eyes and drift and dream_

_Rest in peace, and sleep._

_If there's one thing hope I showed you_

_If there's one thing hope I showed you_

_Hope I showed you_

_Just give love to all_

_Just give love to all_

_Just give love to all_

_All my love and my end's time_

_Everyday you give me life_

_As I drift off to your world_

_Rest in peace, and sleep_

_I know there's one thing that you showed me_

_I know there's one thing that you showed me_

_That you showed me_

_Just give love to all_

_Just give love to all_

_Just give love to all_

_Let's give love to all_

_Let's give love to all_

_Just give love to all_

_Let's give love to all_

_Just give love to all_

_Let's give love to all"_

By the end of the song my nerves were nonexistent. My head leaned back to rest on Dimitri's chest, and his arms encircled my waist once more. He continued to hum the melody, and I was asleep in seconds.

I was having the greatest of dreams—me, in a white dress—me holding the most beautiful baby girl with the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes—when they were invaded.

The academy's courtyard spread out before me, the sun shining down on the back of my hair. It was beautiful—beyond beautiful—and that meant only one thing.

"ADRIAN! GET YOUR PLANT HEALING MOROI ASS OUT HERE!"

He stepped out from behind one of the trees, his hands in the air. "Don't kill me. Lissa just needed to tell you that you need to be at her place at five to start getting ready."

I simmered. "Oh. Okay. Tell her I'll be there. And tell her that I need to know what dress I'm gonna wear cause I don't wanna be going out there in something sweet and innocent. That's her job."

He smirked. "Make them boys drool, Rose. I'll be watching." He winked.

I groaned and woke up.

Looking around the room that was becoming very familiar, I quickly found the clock.

_Shit!_ I had five minutes to make it over to Lissa's dorm.

I quickly made my way out of Dimitri's arms without waking him, finding a piece of paper and writing a note. I set it on his bedside table and shot out of there.

I arrived at Lissa's just as my watch struck five, pounding on her door like there was an angry mob behind me.

She answered the door in a second, her hair already straightened to perfection. I swear, I don't know how she wakes up this early just to fix her hair.

She pulled me in before I could utter a word, sitting me in front of her vanity. Instantly she combed through my rat's nest of hair, placing her make-up in front of me.

"Don't go all out with the make-up. I'm gonna do your hair simple, and with the dress your wearing I don't think anyone will be looking above your chest anyway."

I laughed, causing Liss to pull out a huge knot in my hair, and started on the make-up.

Twelve hours later I was primped to perfection, my hair in tight ringlet curls in the front, select few pinned up in invisible bobby pins, and the rest of my hair in a tight, just-had-the-best-sex-of-my-life bun. My nails were framed and polished to the extreme, a deep burgundy color covering them. My make-up was done as well, just some simple eyeliner and mascara, framed by light foundation, making it pop. On my lips was the lip gloss Dimitri got for me the first time we all went of campus with Natalie and Victor. All that was missing was my dress.

Lissa was done, too, her platinum hair recently highlighted and straightened. Her make-up was a little more done than mine, her eyes framed with light blue shadow and metallic silver eyeliner, with luscious pink lips to top it off. Her nails were done like mine, only they were the same silver as her eyeliner. Her face held no blemish at all, a light foundation making her skin look silky smooth. She already had her dress on—a strapless silver number that accentuated her bust and made her look curvier than usual. It was tight-fitting to the waist, but loosened dramatically at the top of her legs, giving a flare every time she spun.

I sat on her bed in my sweats, watching her twirl across the room, her skirt sometimes flying past the line of appropriate, but never showing anything.

I grinned at her. "Okay, we all know you are utterly gorgeous. Can I see my dress now?"

She laughed. "Okay. But you can't faint and you have to tell me how amazing of a friend I am."

My grin widened as she stepped into her over-sized closet and emerged with a garment back on a hanger. She placed it on the hook connected to her door and unzipped the bag.

I gasped.

Inside was a black, strapless Chinese-style dress—I don't know what they're really called—that looked tight fitting, just sitting on the hanger. Around the seams there was a red silk rope the same shade as my nails, and in the top middle of the dress, there was a tear-drop shaped hole that went low enough to show nearly my entire bust. Along the right side there were red rose patterns with deep green vines running through them, and on the left there was a split up to the thigh. To top it off, Lissa pulled out deep red strappy stilettos, setting them beneath the dress.

The only thing that came out of my mouth was "hummanahummanahummana"

Lissa laughed at my expression. "I changed my mind. You don't have to say anything, but only because your expression says it all. You're welcome."

A knock came from the door then, and she tossed me the dress. "Put it on in the bathroom. I really don't want Christian to see you in that." She pointed to what I was wearing—a black strapless bra and black panties. I laughed and hurried to the bathroom while she opened the door.

I changed quickly, taking off my bra because I knew that once my dress was on you would be able to see it in the front from the hole. The dress slid on nicely, but when I looked in the mirror it almost seemed impossible that I hadn't squeezed into the thing. It fit perfectly.

I fixed a stray hair and walked out, looking down at my dress as I pulled it up and around slightly, fixing it. "Hey, Liss, how do I loo—"

I cut off as I looked up and saw that Christian _hadn't_ been the one at the door.

My mom looked back at me, her eyes amused. "Well hello to you too, darling. How was your year?"

A grin slowly made its way across my face and I squealed. "Mama. Oh, mama I missed you!" **(pretend Rose was raised by Janine the way she wanted to be)** I ran forward and hugged her with all my might. "Oh, mama, you have no idea what you missed by not being here!"

She coughed. "Rose, I can't… breathe…"

I let her go and stepped back, careful not to catch my hair on her uniform. "Are you staying for graduation? Oh, please say you are!"

She grinned. "What kind of mother wouldn't stay for her daughter's graduation?"

I squealed again. "Oh mama, I missed you so much!"

She looked at what I was wearing and laughed. "Make sure you give them boys a hard time. Don't go back to your room with any of them, though." She gave me a short, playful glare.

I grinned timidly. "Don't worry mama; I am definitely not going to be going to any _boy's_ room. And I definitely am not bringing them here." I was careful not to put any extra emphasis on 'boy's'. I may love my mom, but telling her you're in love with your mentor that's seven years older than you? Not the best idea if you want your secret lover to keep all his much needed man-parts.

She grinned again, believing me. "Okay. I wanted to walk you to graduation, if you're ready?" Her statement seemed more like a request. We both looked at Lissa.

She laughed. "Go ahead. I'm just waiting for Christian.

I gave her a hug. "I'll be down there rooting for you," I whispered in her ear.

She squeezed me tighter. "Same here, sis."

We let each other go, and I looped my arm through my mom's. "Let's make them boys drop dead."

x.X.x

As predicted, all the guys—boys and men—in the room either choked on their own spit or lost their jaws on the floor when I walked in. I kept my arm through my mom's, and walked in with my head held high, trying my hardest on to roll on the floor laughing.

Dimitri hadn't seen me yet, as he was facing away from me, talking to Alberta. She saw me first and grinned at me. "Hey Rose. I love your dress."

I grinned at her. "Thanks Alberta. I think Lissa did a great job picking this one. Though I'm almost positive Adrian helped her, she is just _too_ innocent to even think about this."

She laughed lightly. "He did. I had to pull him away from the library's computer afterward because he was just sitting there staring at the dress on the screen."

While we were talking Dimitri turned and looked at me. His expression gave it all away, and I thanked God that Mom had been too preoccupied by listening to mine and Alberta's conversation to notice. When he could keep a straight face and even voice, he said, "You look lovely, Rose. As do you, Guardian Hathaway."

I grinned. "Thanks Comrade." I turned back to Alberta. "When are you guys handing out diplomas and doing the tattoos?"

"In just a minute. When everyone's here we'll do the speech, hand out diplomas, and then the students and staff will vote for two people to spar for us—either instructors or students, or even one of each."

"Oooh, can you rig it to where I fight Stan? It'd be fun to kick his ass in front of the whole school."

She laughed. "Nope, sorry. I agree with the rest of the staff, you need to be fighting Dimitri out there."

I grinned wider. "Even better. This should be fun."

She laughed again as Mom and I walked off. I looked back to see Dimitri following us.

I turned to my mom. "Hey mama, I need to talk to Dimitri for a sec. I'll be right back. If you see Liss, tell her to save me a seat."

She grinned. "Will do. Good luck."

I grinned and turned around, running right into Dimitri's waiting arms.

He hugged me furiously, actually picking me up and spinning around in circles. I giggled like a school girl the entire time.

Eventually he put me down and stepped away, a little dizzy. I must admit, my world was certainly spinning.

"You look absolutely beautiful. I thought we were goners when you walked in with your mom of all people."

Oh, god, how I so desperately wanted to kiss him right now, but I was acutely aware of my mother's eyes penetrating my back, and students were starting to file in. Some did double takes when they saw me—who wouldn't?—but I ignored them.

So instead, I said, "You clean up nicely yourself."

And he did. He was in a tight-fitting black sweater and dark jeans, and though it was so simple, he looked impossibly gorgeous. He let his hair down for once, and I was just dying to pull my fingers through those silky strands.

He laughed and fixed a stray strand of my hair, putting it back in the bobby pin with uncanny precision. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"What? I grew up with three sisters, my mom and my grandmother. I know how to fix hair."

I laughed loudly, bending over slightly to clutch at my side. "It's a wonder you're not gay!"

He laughed with me at that one. "How could I be when you walk in the room with _that_ on?" he said, to quiet for anyone to hear.

Then I saw her, standing in the doorway looking way out of her league. I grinned wider and ran over to her before Dimitri even realized what was going on.

I launched myself into her arms, much like I did to Dimitri. "Olena! Oh, I missed you so much!"

She laughed and hugged me back tightly. "Always good to see you, Rose, dear. Promise me you gave my little boy a hard time?"

I laughed. "I promise. He needs it."

"Roza!" a little voice sounded from around my knees. "Do you remember me?"

I looked down to see little Paul staring up at me with pleading eyes. I laughed and picked him up, placing him on my hip. "Of course I remember you! You were my favorite, remember?"

He grinned, but before he could say anything a deep voice penetrated the air behind me. The rest of his family jumped—they weren't ready—but my ninja skills—aka his aftershave—alerted me of him before he spoke. "I thought _I _was your favorite. Now I have to fight over you with my own nephew. How sad."

"I don't know, Comrade," I said without turning, "I think you might have some competition here."

He laughed and I turned to face him, grinning. I gave him an awkward one armed hug because I was still holding Paul. "I gotta go find a seat before Kirova starts or Liss will never let it go. I'll see you all later."

I set Paul down and gave Olena, Karolina, Sonya and Yeva all goodbye hugs.

I searched the room for Lissa, easily finding her silver dress and platinum hair. She literally stood out like a diamond in the rough. I laughed at the thought and corrected it. She literally _was_ a diamond in the rough.

I made my way to her quickly, giving her a tight hug and punching Pyro on the shoulder, causing him to close his mouth—it opened in surprise when he saw my outfit.

"Quickly," Liss said. "We gotta get seats before she starts."

I followed her to a few seats and was surprised to see Tasha Ozera there waiting for us.

I grinned enthusiastically. "Tasha! Oh, what a surprise. I really missed you. How's it been lately?"

She grinned back up at me as I took a seat on one side of her and Christian took the other with Lissa on his other side. "It's been great. I was actually going to ask you if you guys wanted to come down during the summer, you know, before you leave for Court."

Lissa squealed. "That sounds amazing! I've really wanted to see your place since Christian told me about it. It sounds absolutely amazing, so it must be twice as I imagine."

Tasha laughed. "Yeah, it really is a great place. But don't let Christian near the pool."

"You have a pool?" I asked. "Now I'm definitely coming."

Tasha laughed again. "You all have free passes to my place anytime you need it, even if it's the dead of night and Strigoi are on your tail. How does that sound?"

I laughed with her. "Don't joke about it, it very well could happen."

Dimitri appeared beside me. "What could very well happen and why does it sound like an evil plan, especially coming from Rose?"

I mock-punched his shoulder. "Hey, I can't be an evil mastermind 24/7. I would if I could, but I learned the hard way that it was damn impossible."

He grinned. Well, it was more like his lips twitched in an upward direction, but that was a grin for Dimitri. "Sit down and be quiet. Kirova is starting."

I grinned at his slip up and corrected him, Dimitri-style. "_Headmistress_ Kirova," I said, poorly imitating his Russian accent.

He really did grin this time, as in his teeth showed and everything, but he turned too quick for anyone but me to catch it.

I halfway-listened to Kirova's speech, which was an improvement for me. Something about this not being the end, but the beginning, and ending with her wishing us all luck. I clapped when everyone else did, not really knowing why half the time.

When her speech was done I looked around the room. Alberta was up on stage, calling names of the graduating dhampirs so they could get their Final Test scores that we took earlier that week and their tattoos. I only paid attention when Eddies name was called as one of the first—I cheered by far the loudest. He got the second highest scores. That was a huge thing, because who you get as your Moroi depended highly on your scores.

I blurred it out after that. It wasn't until Tasha nudged me that I realized Alberta had called my name.

I walked up in the ugly orange graduation gown that they made me put on. The cap was resting precariously on my head, not letting one hair get out of place. I stood, just like everyone else, silently in front of Alberta as she repeated for the umpteenth time the Guardian promise. I said "I take responsibility for my actions and of my charge. I agree to your terms" just like everyone else, and she handed me my diploma and said my scores—naturally I had the highest—just like everyone else. And just like everyone else I sat in front of the tattooist and waited painfully for it to be over. And then, at last, just like everyone else, I walked back to my seat.

But, unlike everyone else, I grinned the entire time.

x.X.x

It was almost over. I was standing on the stage with the rest of my graduating class, without my gown but still wearing the hat. The Moroi stood with us, and I had my arm around Lissa and was holding Eddie's hand. Christian had his arm around Lissa's waist, and was squeezing it tight.

Kirova was in front of us, speaking to the audience about dedication and honor and about how each and every one of us up here had mastered in it. I snorted loudly at that part—had she not met Jesse and Ralf?—but she kept going and everyone pretended not to hear.

Finally she turned to us. "So," she concluded, "Without further ado, I present you with the dhampir and Moroi graduating class of 2010!"

I screamed. So do everyone else. This was it. This was the end.

Everyone threw their hats in the air and hugged each other—like always, I was the oddball.

I threw my hat out like a Frisbee, off the stage where it hit Dimitri right between the eyes. I laughed and launched myself off the stage, right into my mom's arms. Besides me weighing more than her, she caught me easily and spun me in circles.

She set me down quickly and hugged me hard. "Oh, honey. I'm so proud of you."

Tears glistened in my eyes. "I know Mom. So am I." The tears overflowed, and I thanked God that Liss had the sense to only have waterproof make-up.

We parted. "Oh sweetie," she said, wiping away my tears, "Oh, I can't believe it. My baby girl's a guardian. You're making me feel old." She laughed.

I laughed with her. "You'll never get old. And even if you do, I'm sure you could still kick major ass."

She laughed. "Thanks. You better go sit down so you can vote for the fighters."

I sat down where I was before, just as Kirova made her way back up the stage. "Ok, because this class passed with flying colors, we have a little treat for you. Students and Guardians will nominate people—graduated and Guardian dhampirs only—and the entire school will vote on two people to spar for us, hopefully a student and teacher, just to test the student's skill, but it can be any combination." She grinned. "If you will raise your hand and sit quietly—and only if you do so quietly—I will pick you and you can nominate anyone but yourself."

All the students and half the Guardians raised their hands. And, naturally, she picked me first. "Rose?"

I grinned. "Dimitri Belikov."

Half the hands went down, and Dimitri made his way to the stage to stand by Kirova. She, of course, laughed and continued. "Tasha Ozera?"

She grinned, making her scars flush pink. "Rosemarie Hathaway."

Only three hands stayed up. I laughed and made my up to the stage. People wolf-whistled as I walked by.

Kirova called the next one. "Camille Conta?"

"Stan Alto."

Stan made his way up here.

"Adrian Ivashkov?"

I laughed. Of course it would be Adrian.

"Alberta Petrov."

Alberta followed Stan.

"Adrienne McCoy?"

The non-royal Moroi I had never seen in my life said, "Eddie Castile."

I whooped loudly as he made his way up here. People laughed at me, but I didn't care.

"Anymore? No? Okay then. It's time to vote." Kirova turned to us. "Dimitri, keep count with me." She turned back to the students. "Who goes for Dimitri? Remember, you get to vote twice, one for each."

Three-fourths of the hands went up.

"Okay. Who votes Rose?"

Every hand went up.

Kirova looked staggered. "Okay, then. I'm not gonna even bother with the others. Rose and Dimitri, you have ten minutes to dress appropriately and meet us out here. Mats should be ready by then."

Dimitri and I made our way out of there, managing to both end up in the girl's locker room without anyone noticing.

As soon as the door was shut I was on Dimitri, my legs around his waist and arms around his neck, my mouth attacking his.

"You" kiss "have" kiss "no" kiss "idea" kiss "how" kiss "long" kiss "I've" kiss "waited" kiss "for" kiss "this," I said, and attacked his lips again.

He responded enthusiastically, pushing my dress up and over my head, leaving me in nothing but lacy black panties.

We kissed some more until we realized we only had two minutes left to dress. I laughed and went to my locker, throwing on my white sports bra and red _short_ shorts. I fixed my hair into a tighter bun, and walked out to see Dimitri waiting for me in grey sweats and nothing else. I nearly swooned. By the look on his face, when he saw me he thought the exact same thing.

I laughed and removed lip gloss from his neck with my fingers.

"Let's do this."

We walked out one at a time, him first, so that it didn't look like we were doing anything. I counted to ten slowly in my head and followed him out, finding him in position on the blue mats laid all over the floor. I looked around the gym to see everyone there—even the elementary kids had come to watch the fight.

I grinned. _This should be fun._

I copied Dimitri, facing him in the exact position he was facing me with.

"Good luck, Comrade. You're gonna need it."

The whistle sounded.

We didn't budge, waiting instead for the other person to make the first move. We circled each other silently, keeping footing and waiting for the first slip up.

When it came, it was his.

A student yelled, "Come ON!" from the sidelines, and he looked toward the noise. It was only for a split second, but it was enough.

I lunged at him silently, deciding against my usual battle cry. When he looked back, I was already inches from him and coming fast. With his super-dhampir speed he blocked most of my punch, but it caught him by surprise and he stumbled. That alone was rare, but instead of being shocked that I had caught him by surprise I lunged again, this time a kick to the shins that made dead-on contact—no pun intended. He stumbled only for a millisecond, though, and came back at me with a punch to the jaw that I had to duck under, leaving me in a vulnerable position. Before he could take advantage of it I rolled backward and landed swiftly on my feet. I attacked before he could respond to my quick getaway, aiming a punch straight at his gut—and surprised when it made contact. I didn't let that get to me, though, and in the second he was down I had him pinned, my stake out and ready, looking for an opening that wasn't there. I was sitting on his hurt stomach, though, and when I put more pressure on it he wavered and moved his hands the tiniest bit, giving me the winning shot.

I took it without a second glance.

It took me a second to realize I had won, and that was only because Dimitri was struggling to get up, and for some reason I was letting him. He scooted out from beneath me and I stayed on the floor, looking at my stake with utter astonishment. I had done it. I had beat Dimitri in a fair fight—and there were more than five people around.

Dimitri grinned down at me and held his hand out. I took it silently, still mostly in a trance, though some of the real world was starting to break through—like the cheers of _Rose_ in the background and a thousand .wolf-whistles. He helped me up, and my sense of vertigo returned when I realized he never let it go. I knew immediately what he was doing—he was telling me that he remembered our agreement and he was living up to his promise since I lived up to mine.

Without a word he cupped my face in his free hand and tilted my head up. Slow as my thoughts at the moment, he brought his face to mine and touched our lips slightly, then brought his face back a centimeter and did it again. This time I responded, pulling my hands free and pulling them through his hair, undoing his ponytail. With the hands in his hair I pulled him closer to me, and my tongue darted out to touch his lips, begging for entrance. Of course he granted it, without even a thought.

Then, the horror.

Cheers, boos, shouts, profanities. Things were thrown at us, both for good and to try to hit us. The guardians that knew about us and a few others were clapping and wolf whistling, others—like Stan—staring at us like we had each grown three heads. Dimitri's family was shouting the loudest—Viktoria and Olena screaming their heads off especially, though I could hear Paul shouting to Sonya above the noise, "Why are Roza and Uncle Dimka kissing?"

At that I had to laugh, and Dimitri did too. Our lips brushed as we did, and I kissed him once more when we were done—lightly this time—and turned to face the majority of the crowd—Kirova and the guardians were still laughing behind us. They stared back at us, all but six faces with the same expression—surprise and envy. The other six wore very different expressions, even from each other. Adrian looked pissed, but I guess he deserved to be. Lissa was alive with joy. Christian looked like he could tell us to get a room. Tasha looked similar to Lissa, she was happy, but there was an underlying sorrow. I loved the girl, and I was glad that she willingly gave Dimitri to me without a major—or even minor—scene. Eddie looked like he was about to wet his pants from laughing so hard.

Now, I'm sure you're thinking that was only five. But I'm not done.

And my mom… my mom looked relieved. I don't know what for, but she wasn't over here trying to kill the love of my life, so I took that as a good sign.

And as I faced those six people—the six of only thirteen people I care about most—I felt my heart warm. Because looking into those six faces, and six others that had affect on me, I saw acceptance. It didn't matter to them that this was against nearly every code we had. It didn't matter to them, or the other twenty people in the gym that were still laughing their asses off behind me, that what I had was almost crossing the very thin line into illegal. What they saw was what we had—love. And they weren't ever going to take it away.

x.X.x

After everyone had calmed down, I was surrounded by twelve of the thirteen people I cared about most—Dimitri, Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Tasha, Adrian, Yeva, Olena, Viktoria, Sonya, Karolina, and Paul. My family, most of them unrelated but all family to me.

I was chatting and laughing with my large group of friends. Everyone was congratulating me and Dimitri for coming out of the closet—and no, not in that way. Olena wouldn't stop giving me hugs, not that I minded of course. Lissa kept going on and on about the karaoke that was going to be taking place in about an hour in the high school auditorium. And even though her ranting about it wasn't making me too thrilled, I had to say I was looking forward to it. I could sing—very well in fact—but I was the only one that knew that aside from my mom. And I planned to show the world that there were even more layers to the Hathaway Onion. **(Yes I got that from abc's "Castle". Only there it was the "Beckett Onion" lol)**

And then she was dragging me away, telling me to get my dress from the locker room and meet her in her room.

I laughed and did as I was told, rushing to finish before she started mentally yelling at me to hurry up. I was moving so fast, in fact, that I didn't notice the person right in front of me until I ran into her.

I dropped my dress in surprise and yelped quietly. I quickly bent to retrieve my dress and faced the other person, saying, "Oh God, I'm so sorry," before I even saw who it was. And when I _did_ see who it was I nearly dropped my dress again.

My mother smiled at me. "Hello Rose. Good job out there. And good job finally getting that secret off your chest."

I stared at her blankly. "You knew?" Well, that was a surprise.

She laughed lightly. "Of course. I raised you to be a good guardian, and what do I get? A teenage girl obsessed with parties and alcohol." I looked at the floor guiltily at that part. "I knew something was different when you cleaned up your act, and it didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out why when I looked for it."

I looked back up at her, pleading with my eyes. "Are you okay with it?"

She took one look at my pleading face and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Whatever makes you happy Rosie," she said, using the nickname she gave me as a kid.

One solitary tear fell out of my left eye, and I brushed it away quickly. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

She backed away, keeping her hands on my shoulders and looking me dead in the eye. "I think I do."

I cocked one eyebrow, something I learned with tons of practice. "What do you mean?"

She nodded her head behind me. "Go say hi to your father. He came a long way to see you graduate."

I turned, and sure enough, about ten feet behind me, talking to Adrian's dad Nathan, was Ibrahim Mazur. I grinned.

I met my dad when I was sixteen, and to tell you the truth, it was a complete accident. When I was on the run from the academy after Liss and I left Russia, we headed back to the states and stayed in Manhattan. One day, I was walking home in the dark and a human came up to me and tried to violate me. Abe had been by on "business" and had seen the whole thing, including me taking down the human. He had recognized me immediately because mom sent him pictures every year and had taken me to his house and cared for the scratches and bruises that I had sustained while fighting. He had called my mom soon after and she told Victor, whom she had been guarding at the time. He, of course, went against his word and sent psi-hounds after us instead of reporting it to the Academy.

While I replayed this all in my head I ran toward him, jumping up and bracing my arms, landing on him briefly with my hands on his shoulders, yelling "BOO!"

Now, my dad isn't exactly the type used to being scared like that. Which explains very well why he jumped ten feet in the air and yelped like a little girl.

I laughed, as did Nathan. "Hey dad. Whatcha doin'?" I asked innocently.

He looked at me. "Having a heart attack, nothing major. How about you?"

I grinned. "Waiting for you to give your only daughter a hug."

He laughed lightly and gave me a fierce hug. "Good job out there, little girl."

I hugged him back, wrapping my arms around his stomach. "Thanks old man. I had some pretty kick-ass parents."

He laughed lightly and let me go, putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me up and down. He smirked.

"What?" I said, very conscious of the fact that I was wearing only a sports bra and shorts, and that he had seen me in the skimpy dress still draped across my arm. **(No, I don't mean in a sexual way. He just smirked because of her attire and the fact that she's the sexiest woman in the school, whether he likes to admit it or not.)**

He shook his head and smiled sadly. "Nothing. I just don't think I can call you 'little girl' anymore."

Tears came to my eyes but I pushed them back. "That's ok. I can still call you 'old man'."

Just then, I felt Lissa in the back of my head nagging me. _Rose I swear to God if you don't get your sexy little ass to my room in the next two minutes, I will come and find you!_

I laughed and wished I could answer her, if only to say _Threat or Promise, _but gave my dad a hug and told him I had to go. He understood perfectly, and let me go.

I ran up to Lissa's room, nearly bumping into a few people on the way. When I finally reached it there, I barged in without knocking—not that it's a big deal with us. She jumped slightly but laughed when she saw me.

"Sit," she ordered, pointing to the chair in front of her vanity.

I grinned and did as told, watching her in the mirror as she touched up my make-up and fixed my hair so it was falling in soft ringlets down my back.

When she was done, she pointed to the bed and the outfit I hadn't noticed was lying on it. "I got you that at the mall last time we were there. Figured it would be a good graduation gift." She had a small smirk playing on her lips as she finished her sentence.

I walked over to it cautiously, not sure what would be in store for me. When I saw it, I squealed in joy and changed.

x.X.x

Fifteen minutes later Lissa and I were headed back to the gym, her still in her dress, but me in something _much_ better.

I had on a red strapless shirt with zebra print on it, black skinny jeans, and red heals that had three short straps on the top. My hair was in perfect ringlets, and large silver hoop earrings were stuck in my ears. **(pics on profile of this outfit and Lissa's dress)** My make-up was simple dark eyeliner and mascara, with off white shadow to complement it. My lips were covered lightly with gloss.

We were actually early, which was saying something about all the girls that had to spend hours in front of a mirror to look good. Only teachers and guardians were there, still setting up the equipment for the karaoke. I shrugged to Lissa and walked up to the nearest guardian—Alberta—and asked if she wanted any help.

She took one look at me and laughed, but not in an _Are you kidding me_ way, more of an _Only you, Rose_ laugh. "Only you could look so good in so little time," she said, but let me help.

Forty-five minutes we were done—with Dimitri nowhere to be seen, might I add—and people were starting to slowly trickle in one by one. I was only sweating a little, but my deodorant and perfume covered the scent and you couldn't tell by looking at me. The gym was dark and the bleachers were pulled back, tables and chairs laid out instead. The only lighting came from the stage and the candles—one on each table. The lights on stage were changing colors slowly from red to purple to blue and so on.

Once almost everyone was here, I head to the stage to grab the microphone. I tapped it and heard it over the speakers. "Hello? Everyone?"

People kept talking.

"_Hello_? I know you can all hear me." They kept talking.

"HEY! SHUT UP!"

They all turned to look at me.

"Thank you. Now, because I know that no one will ever volunteer to be the first singer, I have been talked into being that person," I shot Alberta and my mom a glare, "So here goes."

The music stared and I watched as the gym doors opened to reveal Dimitri. I grinned. _Just in time._

_Maybe I need some rehab,  
Or maybe just need some sleep  
I've got a sick obsession,  
I'm seeing it in my dreams_

I swayed to the music, keeping time easy. People were looking at me, wide-eyed.__

I'm looking down every alley,  
I'm making those desperate calls  
I'm staying up all night hoping,  
Hit my head against the walls  


I was actually dancing now, reenacting the song.

_What you've got boy is hard to find  
I think about it all about it all the time  
I'm all strung up my heart is fried  
I just cant get you off my mind_

Because your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love  
I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love

Won't listen to any advice, mamma's telling me to think twice  
But left to my own devices I'm addicted it's a crisis!

My friends think I've gone crazy, my judgment's getting kinda hazy  
My speech is gonna be affected if I keep it up like a love sick crackhead

What you've got boy is hard to find  
I think about it all about it all the time  
I'm all strung up my heart is fried  
I just cant get you off my mind

Because your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love  
I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love

I don't care what people say  
The _**Russian's**__ worth the price I pay  
I get so high when you're with me  
But crash and crave you when you leave  
_

I emphasized _Russian_. I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one to notice.

_So I got a question;  
Do you want to have a slumber party in my basement?  
Do I make your heart beat like an 8-oh-8 drum?  
Is my love, your drug?  
(huh) Your drug? (huh) your drug? (huh) your drug?  
Is my love, your drug?_

Because your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love  
I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love  


_Your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love  
I said your love, your love, your love, is my drug  
Your love your love your love_

_Heyyy Heyyy… soo… _

_your love, your love, your love, your love, _

_(whispered) is my drug  
_

I skipped over the _I like your beard_ part, because that really didn't fit.

People clapped and cheered. I heard many encores, so decided to surprise them.

I headed around and talked to the DJ, and he complied after finding the song.

I turned to the crowd. The lights turned dark blue.

"This is for Lissa," I said quietly into the microphone, "and anyone else that knew someone that died way too young."

_If I die young _

_Bury me in satin  
Lay me down on a bed of roses  
Sink me in the river _

_At dawn  
Send me away with the words of a love song  
_

_oh oh, oh oh_

Lord make me a rainbow, 

_I'll shine down on my mother  
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, _

_oh and  
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no  
Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby_

The sharp knife of a short life, 

_well  
I've had just enough time_

If I die young bury me in satin  
Lay me down on a bed of roses  
Sink me in the river at dawn  
Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, well  
I've had just enough time

And I'll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom  
I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger  
I've never known the lovin' of a man  
But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand  
There's a boy here in town says he'll love me forever  
Who would have thought forever could be severed by

The sharp knife of a short life, well  
I've had just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls  
What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh no I'll sell them for a dollar  
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner  
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'  
Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'

If I die young bury me in satin  
Lay me down on a bed of roses  
Sink me in the river at dawn  
Send me away with the words of a love song  
oh oh

The ballad of a dove  
Go with peace and love  
Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket  
Save them for a time when your really gonna need 'em oh

The sharp knife of a short life, well  
I've had just enough time

So put on your best boys and I'll wear my pearls

My eyes filled with tears, but they didn't spill. It seemed that everyone else had tears, though, even hard-ass Christian, and I remember that his parents, though not exactly young, weren't old either and didn't deserve to die at such an age. Eddie was looking at me with understanding, and Mia was silently crying into his shoulder. Mason was the only one with a semi-normal look on his face, and only I could tell it was a mask. Lissa seemed to wound to even move, let alone cry.

"Thank you," I said. "Now one more to get this party going and then the next person can go."

People clapped, much more enthusiastic than a second ago.

"And for another The Band Perry song. Hip to My heart, because everyone knows who's hip to mine!"

_I like your lips like I like my Coca-Cola, yeah  
Oh how it pops and fizzes  
You like my shirt like I like it when you hold my hand  
the way it fits  
has got me feeling lucky_

Lookie who is comin', whoo!  
You got that somethin'  
Boy I wanna be where you are,  
And I'm gunnin' for ya'  
Can't even fall for some other man,  
'Cause brother, man you know how to get hip to my heart.

C'mon now!

All the girls in town look you up and look you down,  
I know so... c'mon and pick your kitten purr, baby, purr,  
go ahead and say the word-lets go!  
I think I'm the one you diggin'  
Got me feeling lucky

Lookie, who is comin', whoo!  
you got that somethin'  
boy I wanna be where you are,  
and I'm gunnin' for ya'  
can't even fall foe some other man,  
'cause brother man, you know how to get hip to my heart.

Tell me now, who? Who?  
Tell me now, who? Who?

You play it cool  
You play it so coo-coo-cool  
And what am I supposed to do, when you play it so cool  
And I got the hots for you

Lookie, who is comin', whoo!  
you got that somethin'  
boy I wanna be where you are,  
an I'm gunnin' for ya'  
cant even fall for some other man,  
'cause brother man, you know how to get hip to my heart.

Lookie, who is comin', whoo!  
you got that somthin'  
boy I wanna be where you are,  
an I'm gunnin' for ya'  
cant even fall for some other man,  
'cause brother man, you know how to get hip to my heart.

I said, you know how to get hip to my heart  
I said, you know how to get hip to my heart

Everyone clapped again as I stepped off the stage and walked quickly to Dimitri's side and kissed him full on the mouth. They went wild at that, cheering and wolf-whistling. Tasha even yelled "Get a room!" jokingly, but I decided that was exactly what I was gonna do.

Looking up at Dimitri, I smirked. "What do you think of the outfit Lissa got me?"

His eyes glazed over for a second before he was able to answer. "I think I like it _very_ much."

I laughed inwardly. "How would you like to take it off for me?"

We left without even saying goodbye.

**Fin.**

**IMPORTANT! READ PLEASE!**

**I am now only doing one-shots! That means that this is a one-shot. No more chapters. Period. But they will be long enough to have chapters, and I will put in page breaks so that if you have to leave in the middle of the story you will find your way back easily. All of my non-one-shots that are already up may have an additional chapter every so often—a couple-six months—get a new chapter, but I have discovered I suck at updating so I will only do one-shots so I no longer feel obliged to. **

**Thank you for reading!**

**Songs used-**

**Katy Perry—Your Love is My Drug**

**The Band Perry—If I Die Young**

**The Band Perry—Hip to My Heart**

**The button pushing starts…**

**NOW!**


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